This clearly written text explores the rational theology of Islam, the conflict between the "defenders of God" and the "defenders of reason", and the controversy's historical roots.

As America struggles to understand Islam and Muslims on the world stage, one concept in particular dominates public discourse: Islamism. References to Islamism and Islamists abound in the media, in think tanks, and in the general study of Islam, but opinions vary on the differences of degree and kind among those labeled "Islamists." This book debates what exactly is said when we use this contentious term in discussing Muslim religion, tradition, and social conflict.
Two lead essays offer differing viewpoints: Donald K. Emmerson argues that Islamism is a useful term for a range of Muslim reform movements--very few of which advocate violence--while Daniel M. Varisco counters that the public specter of violence and terrorism by Islamists too often infects the public perceptions of Islam more generally. Twelve commentaries, written by Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals, enrich the debate with differing insights and perspectives.

As America struggles to understand Islam and Muslims on the world stage, one concept in particular dominates public discourse: Islamism. References to Islamism and Islamists abound in the media, in think tanks, and in the general study of Islam, but opinions vary on the differences of degree and kind among those labeled "Islamists." This book debates what exactly is said when we use this contentious term in discussing Muslim religion, tradition, and social conflict.
Two lead essays offer differing viewpoints: Donald K. Emmerson argues that Islamism is a useful term for a range of Muslim reform movements--very few of which advocate violence--while Daniel M. Varisco counters that the public specter of violence and terrorism by Islamists too often infects the public perceptions of Islam more generally. Twelve commentaries, written by Muslim and non-Muslim intellectuals, enrich the debate with differing insights and perspectives.

Based on a symposium on the theme 'Islam and the History of Religions', this important work features thoughtful essays on the study of Islam. In essays organized around five themes in religious studies, the scholars in this volume call for an increase in the attention given to Islam as part of religious studies and for greater clarity in our understanding both of Islam and of religion in terms of Islam. Influential and powerful, when first published in 1985, this text helped bring about the transition of Islamic studies from Orientalism and area studies to religious studies.